This is a small selection of the birds we saw on our recent trip to Mashatu in early June 2013.

One of the most amazing things about bird photography is you can spend hours trying to get a decent or interesting shot of a particular bird and then all of a sudden one of the species, which has been so elusive and furtive, just sits in front of you and displays as if you are not even there. Nature really does reveal itself at its own time. Normally is takes patience to get a  reasonably clean shot of a hornbill let alone it doing something unusual.

The next image is of a Yellow-billed Hornbill displaying to his female. This pair called to each other, they were about half a metre apart, and the male displayed to the female over and over.

There are many sightings of these birds in Mashatu but you have to pick your spots. Clean backgrounds which are those far enough behind the subject to give a properly blurred background. This Red-billed Hornbill must have sat for a few seconds and then it was gone.  You have got to know what you are looking for and recognize it when it comes along.

The Roller, is an old faithful when photographing. It is always difficult to get that perfect flying shot and as you can see it still eludes me. Nevertheless, its blaze of colour always impresses me. Those blues are exquisite.

I have put this shot of a Purple Roller in this sequence because they are not common. The light was not good but the innate colour and majesty of this bird shines through the dusk.

You will not see the nightjar in winter in Mashatu as they have all moved north for better pickings. You are likely to see a Spotted Eagle Owl though. They are common and active at dusk. This shot was taken with a spotlight as my light source and a cooler white balance. Those orange eyes, the ears and the black sideburns are a give away.

It must have been about 09h00 when we saw this Pearl-spotted Owl. He looked around at us from near the top of the tree and within seconds was gone – some are models and some are not.

In winter you are likely to see the Goshawks in the glades of trees, their ideal environs. This Little Sparrowhawk was lurking in the upper branches looking for a meal. Again these visitors do not stay on parade for more than a few seconds. Seeing is one thing, photographing is another!!!!!

Mashatu is Dark-Chanting Goshawk territory. It was mid-afternoon when we saw the individual in the next image. He had a good vantage point and was happy just to scan the area. It had its back to the sun, so when it flew off its head and face were in deep shade cast by its open wings – no shot!

This Grey Heron was perched high up in a dead tree above the Majali River. The late afternoon sunlight on it was perfect. A common subject in an unusual place is always worth a shot.

I took this shot from the other side of the river of this female Saddle-billed Stork. I am not sure why the Herons and Storks were perched up on top of trees that afternoon. Perhaps there was a predator we did not see.

The Carmine Bee-eaters had already migrated north. They are intra-African migrants. The amount of insects decreases in winter so they move north to better feeding areas.  There was a colony of White-fronted Bee-eaters nesting on an east facing bank of the Majali River.

There is always a lot of activity in the colony giving many opportunities to capture a few decent shots of flying Bee-eaters. It is not that easy as they do not have a predictable flight pattern.

Around the Lodge we saw Black-backed Puffed-backed Shrikes and this female Chin Spotted Batis. They seldom sit on an open perch so I had to settle for the cluttered background. It does show that these small flycatchers  stay in the central part of the bushes and trees rather than the periphery.

Some birds pose beautifully for you. This female White-browed Sparrow-Weaver did just that on top of a Shepherd bush early one morning. You can see she is puffed out, a sign it was chilly that morning.

Newmans indicates that the Black Stork is an uncommon resident. This was the third time I had seen a Black Stork. The other two times were in the Kruger Park. There was a small flock of these birds  foraging around pools of water in Mashatu’s rivers. I never realised how beautiful they were. In full sun they have that iridescent green sheen on the neck and head against their bright red beak and eye-ring.

There is a lot of thornveld in Mashatu and as such you are bound to see a Crimson Breasted Shrike hopping on the ground below the thorn bushes and trees. They have a distinctive call which is often the first sign they are close by. The character in the next image was intent on eating a corn cricket it had managed to kill.

A new sighting for me was Three-banded Plover chick. The next image was taken in poor light but I thought it was an interesting record. I never realised that the chicks hid under the parent’s wing when there was danger. This is similar to the African Jacana. This Plover does not lift the chicks under its wing up and run to safety like the male African Jacana, probably because the parent is so small. We saw Three-banded Plover chicks on two separate occasions in two different places. Like Jacanas the chicks are born precocial, meaning they are born with feathers, and are almost immediately mobile and able to start feeding themselves.

We saw fish eagles and heard Meyers Parrots all over but did not get good sightings. White  backed Vultures were roosting in a massive tree alongside the river. Unusually, we did not see a Martial or Tawny Eagle. We did not see any Temnick Coursers or Korhaans during our last visit but we did see plenty of Kori Bustards. There were many more, too many to mention here.

The birders and photographers of you will love Mashatu – it will keep you occupied for hours each day.

I hope you enjoyed this small selection of birds in this post. Mashatu offers a wonderful variety of birdlife, wildlife and vistas.

“Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the wind longs to play with your hair”

Khalil Gibran

Have fun

Mike

This is the third post from our recent trip to Mashatu in early June. I thought it would be worthwhile showing different scenes in Mashatu to give you an idea of the variety of vistas.

Each morning, around 06h30 after a cup of coffee and a rusk, we climbed on the game vehicle and headed out into the reserve. The first image is of a sun rising. It was just after 07h00 and was cold. You definitely need warm clothing when on the back of the vehicle so the cold air chills your face only. A blanket is welcome and a necessity for the girls.

As we are driving out I am always filled with excitement and anticipation of new and unexpected sightings. For me it is not about the ‘big five’ but about the intricately woven diversity of nature.  Each drive reveals a little more of that intricacy. Mashatu has this diversity in  abundance. One morning, we  travelled parallel to a large herd of Elephants for about ten minutes before they crossed in front of us just as we were cresting the hill. The view was superb.

Despite the size of the herd, probably around 60 , they moved very quietly thought the bush. The herd moved surprisingly fast but this was possibly because they could, it was very cool that morning.

One of the bulls was staying at the back of the herd keeping an eye on us.

The next image is also early in the morning when the sun’s light was still diffused. We disturbed a pair of Saddle-billed Storks.

In early winter, the Mopani leaves start to change colour adding to the visual warmth of the early morning light. This Eland  was browsing when it heard something which caught its attention.

The next image shows how dry the grass was in Mashatu. While this heralds tough times for the grazers, the browsers are fine and there is obviously enough seed on the ground to attract flocks of Red-billed Quelea.

It is such fun driving along the river bed. The perspectives are great and the sense of anticipation about seeing a predator or unusual sight at a pool of water around the corner is palpable, holding your attention.

Pools of water remain in the  some bends of the Majali river. A small herd of Elephants drink peacefully in the cool morning sun. It is great to see so much water is still around mid-way through winter.

Some river beds are very rocky while others are filled with fine stones and yet others have fine sand. The Elephants love the sand as they throw vast quantities of it over their wet bodies. Elephants also dig in the sand to drink the water filtered through it rather than the stagnant water in some of the remaining pools.

Although the rivers in Mashatu are not flowing, there are pools of water which attract game and birds. The debris carried by the flooding rivers earlier this year was still piled up high on the banks and wrapped around sentinel trees in the river bed. It is hard to believe that so much water flows down these apparently dry river beds at certain times of the year.

Two girls peering around an acacia bush. Kudu can stand very still which can make them difficult to spot from a distance. Kudu, being browsers, do not have the problems at this time of the year. Grazers such as Impala start resorting to nibbling at Mopani leaves for sustenance in the dry season.

This is the kind of surprise you may see when driving along a river bed.

At sunset we usually stop for sundowners. It is a time to chat about sightings from earlier that afternoon. Usually about half an hour after the sun sets, the colours in the sky become deeply saturated. A great time for silhouettes. My brother Jerry picked up a pair of Wildebeeste horns and put them on his head.

For a short while, the evening sky  has both saturated reds, yellows and deep blues and the first stars are visible. This is a shot of my daughter Lauren holding a star in one of her hands. This is always a fun photographic time.

On the last day of our trip we ventured down to Solomon’s Wall. It is still in the Mashatu Game Reserve but about an hour’s drive from the Lodge. Solomon’s Wall is a sheer basalt dyke, 30 metres high, which once formed a natural dam across the Motloutse river. Over time this intrusion weathered and was eventually breached by one of the occasional floods. Botswana’s first alluvial diamonds were found in the sands upstream in the Motloutse river.

Two years ago, we visited Solomon’s wall and could drive right up to the wall with not a drop of water in sight. This time there was a large pool of water blocking the normal river crossing point. Just to remind you not to fool around in the water, there was also a large ‘flat dog’, sunning itself on the sand bank in the warm winter sun.

area.

Not far from Solomon’s Wall is ‘Rhodes Baobab’ growing on top of a large basalt outcrop. The rugged basalt hills make a dramatic backdrop. The next shot was taken to a give a sense of the size of the igneous intrusions.

On top of one massive basalt outcrop is what is referred to as ‘Rhodes Baobab”. The top of this massive tree has broken off but its large branches still direct one’s view to the massive vista below it.

It is blissfully quiet up on top of this basalt ridge. The view is vast, looking over rigged terrain to the north , Mapungubwe (a sacred hill) to the west and along the ridge towards  to the east is Venetia.

It is worth staying on the outcrop until it is starting to get dark. ‘Rhodes Baobab’ provides a stunning silhouette subject. It is normally the sound of Hyaena’s whooping in the valley below which urges visitors to get down the outcrop and back onto the vehicle. Apart from which it is tricky getting down in the semi-dark especially with treasured camera kit.

Hopefully, I have given you an impression that Mashatu, apart from its wonderful diversity of wildlife, offers eye catching vistas which will soothe any soul. Each season gives the area a very different feel. In winter, wonderful sunsets blaze the dusty evening sky. In summer, massive cumulonimbus clouds provide a dramatic setting for equally impressive but different sunsets.

The next post will be of a selection of bird images from the same early June Mashatu trip. In winter, all the migrant eagles, cuckoos and carmine bee-eaters have moved north but an impressive selection of birds remain.

I hope you enjoyed the vistas and that they tickle your interest in Mashatu.

Nature teaches more than she preaches. There are no sermons in stones. It is easier to get a spark out of a stone than a moral.

John Burroughs

Have fun

Mike

This is the second post from my trip to Mashatu in early June. There is such a diversity of wildlife in Mashatu it is difficult to decide on a theme for the next post. The last post was Mashatu’s Lions and Leopards and this one is of Hyaenas and Jackals, of which there are many.

Every night you hear the Hyaenas whooping. It is a hideous sound but you really get the sense you are deep in wild Africa.

Late one morning, we came across this bone-crusher queen. This Hyaena was steadily break pieces off this old Elephant thigh bone. We could hear the crushing and crunching of the bone. I can only assume there must have been some marrow still in that bone for this lone Hyaena to be gnawing on the it so intently.

We saw two Hyaena dens in this Mashatu trip. One seemed to be the matriarch’s bedroom and at first glance so did the other. It was only after watching her for a while did we hear muffled sounds coming from inside the den. Hyaenas seem to like old Antbear holes as den sites.

This female in the next few images had what looked like a broken tooth and a cut lip which had long since healed leaving her with a twisted smile.

First one pup come out into the mid afternoon sun and then a second. I have never seen such young pups so close. The female seemed unperturbed by our presence.

The one pup was very affectionate with its mother. At one point the female yawned and you could get a sense of how strong her jaw and teeth were.

We often came across lone Hyaenas on their way back to the clan early in the morning. It seemed that the Hyaenas bomb-shelled in the early evening and if an individual came across something interesting it would call its clan members or call for back up. Once a Hyaena stares directly at you there is that shred of primal fear that wells up in you.

There are also plenty of Black-backed Jackals in Mashatu. They are often seen in pairs scouting and foraging for food.

We also came across a family of five Black-backed Jackals. Presumably the youngsters had stayed with their parents to help bring up the next litter. Jackal pups are usually born in late winter probably because food in most abundant at that time. Winter in Mashatu can be harsh for grazers as the grass all but disappears and this probably improves the  Jackal’s hunting success rate or  ability to get more scraps than usual.

These Jackals are very light on their feet running effortlessly through the bush over what, in places, looks very rough and rocky terrain for their paws.

On the morning drive you will often hear that characteristic Jackals yelping or rapid, high-pitched barking. This is often a sign that another predator such as a Leopard is close by. Needless to say we always go and have a look around the vicinity of the yelping.

 We did not see any kills but we did see many Jackals. Despite the fact that Mashatu is now getting very dry, there is plenty of water in the rivers and the bush is bustling with mammals and birds. Every game drive produces unusual sightings.

I will put up another two posts one on Mashatu vistas and another on a selection of Mashatu birds in the next week. There is abundant birdlife, despite the migrants having moved up north.

I hope you enjoyed the images. Mashatu never disappoints.

“I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in order”.

John Burroughs

Have fun

Mike

Hi bushlovers!

My brother Jerry and his eldest daughter Sammy and my daughter Lauren and myself spent a wonderful five days in Mashatu last week. You access Mashatu Game Reserve via Pont Drift. It is a five hour drive from Johannesburg, and is the border post between SA and Botswana. The border crossing was easy enough but you need your car registration papers and do not take banned food produce into Botswana.

You cross the Limpopo River at Pont Drift. The river was quite high but passable by vehicle. Actually it is great fun crossing a river with the bow wave being pushed in front of the vehicle. It really sets the mood for the holiday.The weather was sunny and on a few days quite warm in the middle of the day and early afternoon. It is chilly early in the morning and stayed quite chilly throughout the day when the weather was overcast. The light was quite low on occasions, so I was thankful for the awesome low light capabilities of my D4 and D800.

The one truly spectacular feature about Mashatu is the diversity of wildlife you will see. At Eagle’s Nest Lodge we had wonderful staff and our game ranger Maifala was very knowledgable, had incredible eyesight and was good tracker.

With such wildlife diversity, I naturally have many images to share. To simplify I have stuck to simple themes for my next few posts. This post is entitled Lions and Leopards.

I am always fortunate enough to see lions and leopards on a trip to Mashatu. Early one morning, Maifala picked up the tracks of the Leopard in the next image. He tracked this Leopardess for about 20 minutes before we saw her in an open patch among the croton bushes. This Leopardess had two cubs and had made an Impala kill, which was hidden inside a croton bush. This female was keeping guard while one of her cubs fed on the kill.

This Leopardess was very wary and alert because it was in Lion territory and I gather she had already lost one of her three cubs to a Lion.

This Leopardess was quite old according to Maifala. If only humans could age so well and be so fit, lean and capable.

The light was quite low as she was lying under a croton bush shielded from the sun. This is where the low light capabilities of the D800 came in very handy It is seldom you will be fortunate enough to be able to get a shot of a Leopard in full sunlight – if you do count your lucky stars. This Leopardess was grooming herself after having fed on the carcass.

Always attentive with ears alert for the slightest sound.

Those light greeny-blue eyes were beautiful and a little intimidating.

Only one cub feds on the kill at any one time, unlike Lions where the whole pride piles in after the dominant male has finished. The reason being that Leopards are essentially solitary and do not have back up in the case of a Lion or Hyaena surprise. One cub feeds and the mother and other cub stayed well away until the one  had finished and then it moved away and the next cub came in to feed.

This little cub was tucked deep in a croton bush with the Impala kill, so a telephoto and high ISO were essential.

After feeding this cub hung around the kill for a few minutes licking the blood off his paws. It is useful to have such a long tongue to partially clean its face.

We were also fortunate enough to see the two pride male Lions. They were far away from the rest of the pride out patrolling their territory. Both were large, one with and one without a tracking collar, so I needed to be selective in my shots.

We came across these two large males late in the afternoon around 17h00 so the light was starting to fade. It was almost pitch dark by 18h00. They had rested up for the day and were just starting to rouse themselves. I thought the colours of the Mopani leaves changing colour made a wonderful background.

The stirring process was very slow, like two teenagers after a late night – very reluctant to get up.

Once up they started to move off. We came across these two male about two days later and they had covered a massive distance. Clearly, patrolling their territory was important and done at night.

Early one morning, we were looking down one of the main rivers running through Mashatu, the Majali, watching the bird life and baboons coming down to drink. There was still plenty of water in the rivers but the grass had all but died so the grazers were starting to struggle but the browsers were fine.

Again Maifala’s keen eyesight spotted this young Leopard peering through the brush. It had been unseen by any of the wildlife along the river.

A very interested look. Again a 600mm lens and high ISO were required.

This Leopard came, surveyed and disappeared without a trace. We drove up on top of the river bank to get a better sighting of it but could not find it at all – vanished.

As you can see the sightings were good. I will put more images in the Mashatu, Lion and Leopard categories.

In my next post I will put Hyaenas and Jackals. We never saw any Bat-eared Foxes nor did we see the Aardwolf and there is a possibility that many were lost in the flood earlier in the year.

Willem, you mentioned you were off to Mashatu soon. You will love it and the photography will be very rewarding. It is b….y cold on the vehicles early in the morning so take some warm kit that you can take off in layers as it can be quite hot by 15h00.

I hope these images have whetted you appetite. I will post some more images in the next few days.

“Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better”.

Albert Einstein

Have fun

Mike